A New Day
by Francine2869
Summary: Theresa has been loving Ethan for years, but now she has the chance to make a new life with Jared. Will the eternal optimist and believer of fate take the chance?
1. Chapter 1

**A New Day **

_I was just kinda sick of watching Theresa get jerked around by Ethan and I think she has a real chance at happiness with Jared, so I wanted to write one of the ways that I could see it happening._

_**Takes place the night after Theresa and Ethan made love in Chris's office**_

Theresa slipped into bed that night with a heavy heart. She pulled the covers up over her shoulders, gripping them tight beneath her chin. She unconsciously curled up into a ball, taking up a small space in the ridiculously large bed that dominated her room in the mansion. She looked around the cavernous room at the furniture that she hadn't picked, at the paintings that she'd never looked twice at and the gold leaf wallpaper that was "in this season's fashion, but was never something she would have picked.

All of a sudden he felt like she was ten years old again, when she'd spent a night at the mansion at a slumber party for Fancy Crane. She hadn't understood the pitying looks and the dismissive glances that she'd received that night, but now she knew that hers had been a pity invite. She had been, after all, the housekeeper's daughter, not fit to spend time with one of the golden children of the crane empire. But all she'd known at the time was that she'd been invited to a party at the Crane Mansion that included swimming and a clown and all the other magical treats that her mother had never been able to afford for her.

She remembered that she'd slightly resented her mother for never throwing her such an extravagant party that she could invite all her friends to. The woman in her now was ashamed, and wonderfully grateful for the love and support that her family had provided over the years. She would rather have lived with nothing, then have had to be a member of this horrible family.

As tears dripped down her face she wondered how she ever could have ever gotten this far. How could she have ever thought that following this path could ever bring her happiness? God, how many _years_ had she wasted chasing after Ethan, or rather the dream of what she thought they could have together. And now… her daughter was being raised by Ethan and another woman, she couldn't give her son near the amount of time she wanted, and she'd only had three real relationships in her life and two of them had ended with the men in love with other women. It sounded like something out of a soap opera.

She shifted onto her other side and her gaze fell on the photos she kept on her bedside table, just visible in the moonlight. Mama, Louis, Miguel, Paloma, all standing around her smiling. Little Ethan and Jane with open mouths and happy eyes. She'd had a picture of Ethan there until a few weeks ago, until their return from Rome. It was packed away now, along with everything that had ever come from their relationship. Movie ticket stubs, the program from Cinderella, dried flowers that he had given her, notes that said "I love you" and hallmark cards. A thousand tiny parts of their past there were all packed away deep in her closet because she couldn't have thrown them out.

A myriad of thoughts and images drifted through Theresa's mind. Visions of her past with Ethan, happy times when she'd thought that they'd be together forever. They'd raise their children free of the Crane influence to be caring, wonderful people. She'd always been a dreamer and many people had criticized her for being unrealistic. But she'd always believed and that optimism had helped guide and support her through many years of heartache and pain.

In the beginning Ethan had been just as confused as she, trying to understand the depth of what he was feeling. But long ago he had become a man who needed to be responsible for his actions and the repercussions that came of them. The blame had always been on her shoulders and she had accepted that, knowing what the world thought of her. But time and time again Ethan had tempted her with a look, a touch or a word. She'd been content to fight for him for years, sure that in the end she would win and was just biding her time until the "happily ever after" she dreamed of.

And now she'd found someone else to be happy with. A man that treated her like a princess, who was polite and kind and thoughtful. Maybe it was because she hadn't been with anyone else in a long time but she found that it was almost unbelievable how easy it was to have a relationship with someone whose time and attention was devoted specifically to her. She'd been so used to "sharing" Ethan that having Jared adore her was an unexpected but wonderful surprise.

She let her gaze drift over the photos again, and was suddenly struck by how fast her children were growing up. It was time that she grew up too, more then she already had. She needed to stop believing in fairytales and happily ever afters and believe in what she could see and feel. Jared was here, he was now and he was her future. She wouldn't let Ethan keep her from any more future happiness.

She sighed again and lay flat on her back, staring at the ceiling. She quickly turned on the radio beside the bed, hoping that listening to music would help her fall asleep faster. She couldn't take anymore of these somber thoughts. A simple song drifted out, and though it was something she'd never heard before, it was beautiful and soothing and exactly what she needed at the moment. She forced herself to relax, muscle by muscle and shut her brain off for the night.

_Let's go back  
Back to the beginning  
Back to when the earth, the sun, the stars all aligned_

_'Cause perfect didn't feel so perfect  
Trying to fit a square into a circle  
Was no life  
I defy_

_Let the rain fall down_

_And wake my dreams_  
Theresa heard the rain fall on the roof above her, made out the tracks it made as it dripped down the large picture windows. _  
_

_Let it wash away  
_She'd always loved the rain, loved watching it fall down out of the mysterious sky. She wondered where it had come from and what rain was like all over the world. If the same drops fell in Rome, in France, in Ireland, in China, in India. The feeling of it washing over her skin was like a cleansing.

_My sanity  
_As an adult it had been much too long since she'd simply stood in the rain and felt it clean her. She probably could have used it too.

_'Cause I wanna feel the thunder_  
But she was afraid that any rain that she felt in the future would be accompanied by a thunderstorm, complete with lightning that would singe and sometimes burn her. Beautiful but deadly, a storm was certainly in her forecast and as much as she welcomed it, she was looking forward to the rainbow afterwards more. _  
_

_I wanna scream_  
As her eyes closed Theresa took a deep breath, unconsciously twisting her fingers together. Her mind wouldn't let her rest, continuing to show her images of the recent past. The images were torture, suddenly showing her very clearly what a fool she had been. For far too long she'd allowed Ethan to walk all over her, no matter how she looked at it. Even if he was the man she loved, and probobly because of it, she had put up with far too much from him for far too long._  
_

_Let the rain fall down_  
But as the rain fell, literally and metaphorically, she vowed to herself that somehow she'd find herself again and start to live her life again. Maybe for the first time she would choose her own path.

_  
I'm coming clean, I'm coming clean  
_She finally managed to drift off to sleep, feeling better about herself then she had in months. The doubts and dreariness that had plagued her for as long as she could remember were slightly lighter, and she felt confident that she was on a path to a better life.

_  
I'm shedding  
Shedding every color  
Trying to find a pigment of truth  
Beneath my skin_

_'Cause different  
Doesn't feel so different  
And going out is better  
Then always staying in  
Feel the wind_

_I'm coming clean  
Let the rain fall  
Let the rain fall_

_I'm coming clean  
_

* * *

The next morning she awoke and looked around her, stretching in the sunlight that filtered through the blinds. She sat up and rubbed her hands over her face, pushing her hair back. Her heart felt lighter today, and she could almost feel the eternal optimism that had been her constant companion all through her sordid past. She suddenly couldn't remember when it had deserted her, but was very glad that it was back.

She quickly got up prepared for the day, dressing in a simple top and jeans, not finding anything attractive in the expansive closets that housed the clothes bought with Crane money. She suddenly couldn't wait to leave this... prison and without spending another moment in her cave of a room, she flew down the stairs and out the front door. She paused to look at the beautiful sunrise that was cresting over a far hill, wondering what it would look like all over the world. She smiled as she slid into her car and started down the driveway. She was a woman on a mission this morning.

_**AN: The song is "Let the Rain Fall Down" by Hilary Duff and was just a random pick for this fanfiction. Please review! This could be the end… and you could imagine where she goes from here. Or do you want to know where I see her ending up? Nothing will happen if you don't push that little purple button!**_


	2. A Day Off

**A Day Off**

_I'm trying something new with this story. I'm just going to write for a period of time without going back and correcting what I've written. I hope you like whatever I come up with. Comments would be appreciated_**_. :-)_  
**

Theresa walked into the office that morning full of purpose. Valerie approached her with forms that needed to be signed and she simply waved her off.

"Please go see if Chad can help you with anything. Jared and I are taking the day off." Her assistant gave her a funny look but soon left her alone. Theresa made her way to Jared's office and opened the door, without knocking. She didn't have to fear opening the door on him and another woman or that he wouldn't want to see her. It was so freeing knowing that he would welcome her with open arms. She closed the door behind her and rested against it, watching him organize some paperwork on his desk.

"Good morning Jared." She smiled at him, feeling like her mouth stretched from ear to ear. "You're here early this morning."

"Well, something told me that I should get some work done before you got here."

"Is that so?" She made her way around the desk and sat in his lap, his arms coming naturally around her.

"Yeah. Just a feeling I had. Thought I might be busy today." She giggled and kissed him, a light peck on his lips that he leaned into to find her already moving away and standing up.

"Well, that's true. You are going to busy today. But not in the office. Do you have some more comfortable clothes around?"

He stood up slowly, nodding. "I keep a change of clothes at the office just in case." She clapped her hands, smiling again. "Good. Go change and tell Valerie you're leaving now and meet me out front in about 10 minutes."

She was out the door before he could ask her where they were going and what was up with her today. He couldn't remember ever seeing her so carefree and… young. She was acting like he imagined she'd been as a teenager. Before the harsh reality of the world crushed her down. He grinned and picked up a duffel bag from the bottom of a filing cabinet. What was it about that woman that kept him guessing all the time?

* * *

He met her out front and she instructed him to stow his briefcase away in his car. "We are going to go for a walk. It occurs to me that I've never shown you the real Harmony." She started to head down the sidewalk towards the book café but he stopped her by tugging on her hand. "Not until you get bundled up. It's chilly today and your scarf is all twisted." She giggled again as he fixed it, smiling up at him like he was a hero in a romantic storybook. "I guess I was in a hurry to get out of that stodgy office." They started walking and she settled into his side. "I don't know how I could have worked there without redesigning it. The offices were dreadful and boring." 

"Well they're lovely now. Open and airy and beautiful. A pleasure to work in." She gave

him a funny look and they both burst out laughing.

"Why are we talking about this?" he asked.

"I have no idea. Let's talk about something, anything else."

* * *

They walked through the town for hours that morning. They sipped a coffee from the book café and wandered through the park. She showed him all her old haunts from when she was a child, and then the places she'd hung out as a teen. She shared the different places that she'd been employed at and the memories of how she'd daydreamed her way out of a job at many places. It warmed her heart when he merely chuckled and kissed the top of her head. 

"They just didn't know what a treasure they had in you then. Now everyone's clamouring for your attention."

"More like they're clamouring for my money." She scuffed a toe against the sidewalk and he tipped her chin up with a gloved finger.

"Not so Tess. Everyone around you can see how special and different you are."

"Like, 'don't eat the paste' special?"

He laughed out loud at that, seeing that she was trying to distract him away from a serious discussion. "No, like optimistic and wonderful and understanding. Everyone wants to get to know you because of the kind of person you are. It wouldn't matter if you were still just Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald and not Mrs. Crane because you'd still have the same heart and soul that everyone loves."

She just looked at him for a long moment, peeking out from under her long lashes. He began to feel uncomfortable with the scrutiny and opened his mouth to say something but she simply leaned up and drew him into a kiss. It was short but it still knocked him off his feet. "That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me in a long time. Thank you." He tucked her into a hug and they stood there embracing under the winter sunlight while the snowflakes fell all around them.

* * *

Later that afternoon they picked up little Ethan from school and took him ice skating. They went sledding and made a family of snow creatures before retiring back to Pilar's house where they concocted a 'favourite' dinner with Miguel and Louis, in memory of their childhood. Theresa could remember having the privilege of picking what she wanted for dinner once a month. Mama would make whatever she wanted (within reason, of course) with any combination of dishes and dessert that her mind could come up with. They ate dinner together as a family, her brothers teasing her with long forgotten embarrassing stories that simply made her blush and Jared laugh out loud and share some of his own. 

That evening Jared waited while she put Little Ethan to bed and they shared a glass of wine in the dancing firelight, cuddled up on the couch. They didn't say much and were just content to sit together at the end of a busy, happy day. Theresa knew in her heart that she'd never had this with Ethan. They'd never taken the time to just be together in their daily life without some drama complicating it. It was a gift to share her life and burdens with someone and up until now she'd never had a steady force to lean on, besides her family. She was glad that fact was changing. Jared made his excuses late that night and was about to get ready to go back to his apartment, but Theresa stopped him and offered the guest bedroom down the hall.

"Tomorrow's Saturday anyway. Neither of us has to be anywhere and I'd love to share breakfast with you."

He nodded and smiled, taking the hand that she held out. They both settled into bed that night anticipating the bright sunshine of the morning.


End file.
